Pilot unhurt after emergency landing at Columbia Regional Airport

Thursday

Jun 30, 2016 at 12:01 AMJun 30, 2016 at 1:00 PM

A pilot was unhurt when he had to land his plane without front landing gear Wednesday evening at Columbia Regional Airport.

The Piper Saratoga's pilot told air traffic controllers in Jefferson City he was having landing gear problems, emergency officials at the scene said, and he was diverted to Columbia for an emergency landing. The nose gear partially collapsed during the landing, and Central Missouri Aviation towed the plane from the runway, according to a city of Columbia news release.

In-bound flights from Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago were delayed about an hour, the release said.

Nearly 20 emergency response units were initially called to the scene when the call came in at 7:12 p.m., according to online dispatch records.